Medrxiv
Study: A Continuously Active Antimicrobial Coating Remains Effective After Multiple Contamination Events
Liquid-based disinfection of environmental surfaces is a momentary intervention while the recontamination of these surfaces is continuous. In between disinfection cycles, contaminated surfaces remain a potential source of infection. The use of continuously active antimicrobial surface coatings would reduce the risk of transmission between routine cleaning and liquid disinfection events by serving as an “always-on” approach to reduce pathogen burden.
Here, the spectrum of activity was broadened assessment efficacy of the coating to withstand multiple contamination events against viruses and pathogenic bacteria.
The role of surfaces in disease transmission has been well established. The cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces is a critical component in reducing the rate of health care associated infections (HAI) as demonstrated when effective measures of environmental hygiene are implemented. The primary method of reducing pathogen exposure from surfaces is through disinfection with a liquid that remains active for only minutes after application. Although liquid-based surface disinfection is effective in the short term, pathogen deposition onto surfaces is a continuous process. Low levels of surface contamination have been found to impart an increase in the risk of transmission.
Many in vitro studies of microbial transfer from contaminated surfaces to hands also support these findings. Therefore, an intervention that continuously reduces the viability of pathogens deposited onto surfaces between routine cleanings has the potential to disrupt this mode of environmental transmission. The use of antimicrobial surface coatings to serve this purpose have been successfully implemented in the healthcare setting and resulted in reduction of HAI’s. We recently reported on an improved formula (SW2™) of this continuously active antimicrobial coating technology that reduces levels of infectious human coronavirus 229E (HCoV 229E), an enveloped virus, by 99.99% within 2 hours (Ikner, medrxiv 2020). In the study described herein, this coating technology was found to remain efficacious after multiple contamination events over 8-12 hours against HCoV 229E, as well as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. This simulates the re-contamination events that a surface would undergo over a typical workday, and at higher microbial load levels.